All posts tagged U.K.

In the end, the vote was decisive. Scotland has opted by a margin of 55% to 45% to keep the pound, keep the queen and stay in the European Union. They did so by voting to remain in the United Kingdom, although Scottish First Minister Alec Salmond had assured them that they could have all these things by voting for independence. The No campaign was sufficiently effective in raising the specter of economic chaos and isolation from the European club that a majority of voters opted for the status quo.

My latest Europe File column is about eurozone political union, but it could just as easily been about Scottish independence. It grapples with that familiar question: “what does it take to sustain a currency union?” This is now right back at the top of the eurozone agenda as the recovery earlier this year has fizzled out. But it is also the issue that lies at the very heart of the debate over Scottish independence–something that now looks much more likely following a poll this week showing the “No” vote lead has narrowed to just six points only 15 days before the referendum.

It was billed as a keynote speech, an opportunity for Boris Johnson to shake off his buffoonish image and present himself as a homme serieux. The Mayor of London was launching a report by his economic adviser, which he claimed would be a major contribution to the most contentious debate in British politics: the U.K.’s future relationship with the European Union. Yet Mr. Johnson bizarrely upstaged his own relaunch by choosing this moment to announce his plan to seek a parliamentary seat at the next year’s general election. Why?

What seemed unthinkable only a few weeks ago is now happening. European leaders are set to seal the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission on Friday, leaving the UK diplomatically isolated. Now what?